Roped In By L.A. Witt & Marie Sexton ~ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Synopsis

Graham and his roping partner Jackson have ruled the rodeo scene for ten years running, but lately, Graham’s heart isn’t in the game. He’s tired of the bruises, the cowboy mentality, and the animal rights activists who picket every event. And then there’s Jackson.Graham and Jackson have been friends since they were boys. But ever since their drunken sexual encounter the year before, things have been awkward. Graham’s accepted that he might be gay, but no matter how attracted he is to other men, he always panics and runs when the clothes start to come off.Then Graham has a run-in with one of the rodeo protesters, and everything changes. Kaz is young, idealistic, and sexy as hell. And Kaz has an idea for getting Graham past his nerves and into bed.All they need is a bit of rope

Tina’s Review

Who pulled an all-nighter to finish this story? Me! And did I regret it even when I ran around like a zombie the day after? Nope, because this book rocked the house! I loved it, how could I not? Just thinking about cowboys, rodeo, belt buckles, jeans, boots, hats, horses and hot kinky sex.. was enough to draw me in. Roped In is a heart-warming story about true friendship, life lessons, finding love and self acceptance in the shadows of the rodeo circuit.

Graham, a rodeo cowboy for ten years, is searching for a way out of the circuit. At that very moment he meets Kaz, who’s one of the annoying animal rights activists that picket every rodeo. At first the idealistic Kaz gets on his nerves, but once the sexy rodeo protestor starts to unwrap the rope, Graham’s world is on fire…

One of Graham’s biggest problems is his attraction to his childhood friend and rodeo partner Jackson. They had fooled around a few times, but Graham was unable to bring himself to act on his feelings, his nerves always getting the better of him, he would panic and run. Every fucking time! Of course, he can’t imagine that the cute young hippie, skate-punk Kaz could possibly have the ultimate solution to his problem. So when Kaz offers to tie him up and have his wicked way with him, Graham is completely baffled, especially as Kaz’s proposal and the thought of being controlled by him, sets his body on fire.

“I could fix that, you know,” he murmured against my lips.

“How?

“Remember when I offered to tie you up like one of your calves?”

Oh. Fuck.

“You were serious about that?”

He shrugged. “Not at the time, but I am now.” He drew back and looked up at me, eyes gleaming with God knew what kind of dirty thoughts. “If you’re game.”

“I’ve, uh...never tried that… You think that would help?”

“It might.” He slowly drew the tip of his tongue across his lip.

Both Graham and Kaz are great characters, I just loved them. I was really rooting for these two because seemingly the odds are stacked against them. Kaz just can’t overcome Graham’s rodeo job and Graham isn’t sure if he wants to get involved with an animal rights activist who accuses him of animal cruelty. But then something unexpected happens and the cards are reshuffled.

The authors did a wonderful job of conveying the heart and soul of these two guys, and when the heat turns up, it gets damn hot! Speaking of hot: The sex is sheet burning and off the charts on the hotness factor, their chemistry just sizzles from the screen! Inhale…exhale…Breathe Tina…just breathe!

Kaz and Graham test boundaries and fight feelings, but they cannot keep their hands off each other. Their relationship isn’t an easy one but in the end I fully believed in these guys, loved them and I had no doubt they’d get their well deserved HEA.

You want someone to tell you what to do, and you want to please him, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No.” He furrowed his brow. “No?”

This time, I was the one to grin. “I want you to tell me what to do, and I want to please you. Nobody else.”

I loved how cute young Kaz so easily becomes the sexy, controlled dominant. He immediately senses Graham’s urge to let go, to give up control, to feel safe tied to the bed and pinned beneath his body. And Graham embraces his submissive side. The cowboy in him can’t help but compare it to the soothing effect blinders have on horses. He realises that being bound is not about taking the threat away, it’s simply about feeling more at ease and having his all consuming fear bound, gagged and fully restrained.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story which moved along at fairly rapid pace, keeping me involved enough to want to read it through in one sitting.The writing is sublime, the story is compelling and I really liked the first person point of view. It gave me an insight into Graham’s mind. A glimpse into Kaz’s head would have been a nice bonus though. I know, my greedy self never gets enough…but one can’t have everything, right?

Overall, this book is a great read with a nice dose of kinky sexy. It’s sweet and lovely and just good. And to top it off, Graham is a cowboy...What more could a girl want?

Purchase Link

Excerpt

I stopped brushing Angel and looked over at Jackson. “What if you’re right?”

“Excuse me?” He met my eyes over Petty Cash’s back.

“So what if I took some kid home? Why should it matter to you?”

“Christ, Graham! Are you kidding? He’s a goddamn punk. A protester. One of those animal rights freaks who doesn’t know the first thing about what we do. After all these years in the rodeo, I can’t believe you can look at him without wanting to punch his lights out.”

“So, that’s the issue? Not that I might have gone home with a man, but that he’s not a cowboy? If it’d been you, on the other hand, it’d be okay?”

“Jesus!” Jackson glanced around the barn, as if we were still at the rodeo and he was afraid of who might hear. “Will you listen to yourself? What the hell’s gotten into you?”

“Maybe I’m tired of lying. Aren’t you?”

I was met by a silence so profound, it scared me. Even the horses froze, as if they could sense the force of his anger and were cowed by it. “I am not like you, Graham. Do you hear me? I’m not like you and your goddamn queer boyfriend—”

“Graham?” a voice called from the front of the barn, and Kaz stepped through the door. “You in here?” He was looking down at the floor, being mindful of the mud and manure getting on his nice clean Converse sneakers, but he finally looked up, and when he saw Jackson, he stopped short. His lips—lips I couldn’t stop staring at—made a soft O of surprise.

Talk about timing.

“Christ!” Jackson swore. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I can go—” Kaz started to say, but I cut him short.

“No.” I leveled a glare at Jackson. “Jackson was just leaving.”

“Seriously? You want to be alone with this fagg—”

“Enough.” The force behind the word was enough to make the horse I was brushing sidestep away from me, but I wasn’t about to let Jackson push me around. Not tonight. “He’s a guest here, and you’re in my barn,” I warned. “On my property.”

“Not for long.”

That was fine with me. He led Petty Cash away while Kaz stood against the wall, avoiding my gaze. Jackson came back from the stall and headed for the door. He made a point, as he passed Kaz, of bumping into him.

Anger flared up in my chest. I took a step forward, but he was already halfway out the door, and Kaz put a hand out to block me. “Let it go,” he said quietly. “It doesn’t mean a damn thing to me.”

“He’s such a narrow-minded asshole—”

“And starting a fight will only validate it. In his mind, at least.”

The wind went out of my sails and I slumped. I heard Jackson’s truck start, and his wheels spinning on the gravel of my drive. I looked down at my boots. “I’m sorry.”

“For not standing up for you. This time, and the first time, at the rodeo.”

“It’s not me you need to stand up for, Graham. I can take care of myself just fine. It’s you who has to face this. You’re the one who apparently has to explain something to him. Not me.”

The truth of those words made me hang my head.

“Hey.” He moved closer and put his arms around my waist, settling his slim, lean body against mine. “Forget about him, all right?” He kissed my jaw, and my neck. He stood on his toes, and his lips teased gently against my ear. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

Such simple words, but they lightened my mood considerably. A slow warmth began to build in my groin, spreading up and out to my limbs. All thoughts of Jackson faded away. “Really?”

He nodded, moving to brush his lips over mine. “Yep. Thinking about exactly how to tie you up…”

The thought caused my mouth to go dry. I had to swallow hard to respond, and even then, all I managed was, “Oh.”

“And all the things I’ll do to you once I get you that way.”

About Marie Sexton

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

About L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.

L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

I just love this review! I also love both these authors, and never am I disappointed in wither of their work. They automatically go into my forever keeper collection. Congrats to both authors. *S*Thanks for the great excerpt, and the giveaway!